It was in 1531 that the Mother of God appeared
to Juan Diego in Tepeyac Hill in Mexico and performed "the miracle of
the
roses" as proof to Bishop Zumarraga of her presence. Roses never grew
on
that rocky terrain, and certainly not in December. Moreover, when, in
their
surprise, the bishop's attendants tried to pick and take some of them
from
his tilma, they could not do so because they became, as one author put
it, "not roses that they touched, but as if they were painted or
embroidered."
Indeed, they were "mystical roses" from the hands of the Mystical Rose
herself.

The Litany of Loreto lists many of her titles,
but there is a flower amongst them; the Mystical Rose. Truly, the rose
is the queen of all the flowers, and there is something in the Heavenly
arrangement of Its petals and Its coloring, there Is something In Its
scent
and symmetry, In the modesty of its green leaves, which makes it very
special.
It is the flower which captures the heart at nearly every stage of its
growth, even when a bud. While It grows, Its petals gradually unfold as
a token, as It were, of the blossoming of the lover's love for his
loved
one.

Mary, the most beautiful of God's creation, is
indeed "the Incarnate Rose," especially chosen for God's garden. She is
the "rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys" [Song 2:1]. There is
no
rose comparable to her and she has made Paradise ever so much more
beautiful.

But if you call her a rose, white is the color
of her purity; gold, the tint of her royalty; red, the hue of her
suffering.
The rose grows out from a stem of thorns and in the heart of this
flower,
the red of the Cross of her son was forming. Indeed, without thorns a
rose
is not a rose, and without the thorn of great suffering, Mary could not
have become the Mystical Rose of God's Paradise.

THE BEGINNING OF THE APPARITIONS AT MONTICHIARI IN 1947

Mary Appears as the "Rosa Mystica" In Montichiari

Montichiali with its suburb Fontanelle is a small town in
Northern Italy, twenty kilometers from Brescia, the bishop's town. It
is situated in front of the Italian Alps in the fertile plain of the
river Po. The name means in English, "Bright Mountains." On a hill lies
the old castle of St. Mary and the venerable Church of San Pancrazio.

First Apparition

Pierina Gilli was born on August 3, 1911, at Montichiari and
worked as a nurse in the hospital there. The first time, the dear
Mother of Christ appeared to her in a room of the hospital, in the
spring of 1947. Our Lady, a beautiful woman, wore a violet dress and a
white veil around her head. She was very sad, her eyes were filled with
tears which fell to the floor. Her breast was pierced by three big
swords. Our Lady said, "Prayer-Penitence-Expiation" and was silent.

Second Apparition

On June 13, 1947, Our Lady appeared again in the hospital
early one Sunday. morning. This time she was dressed in white and
instead of the three swords she had three roses: a white one, a red
one, and a golden one. Pierina Gilli asked her, "Please tell me who you
are." The Lady answered, smiling, "I am the Mother of Jesus and the
Mother of all of you."

Here she paused, then she went on, "Our Lord sends me to bring
a new Marian devotion for all male and female institutes, religious
orders, and secular priests. I promise those religious institutes,
orders, and secular priests who venerate me in this special way my
special protection, an increase of spiritual vocations, fewer betrayed
vocations, and great sanctity among the servants of God. I wish the
13th of each month to be celebrated as the day of Mary. On the twelve
preceding
days, special prayers of preparation should be said."

With an expression of great joy, she went on, "On this day I
shall send to these religious institutes, members of orders, and
secular priests who have honored me in this way, a superabundance of
graces and great sanctity. I wish the 13th of July of each year to be
celebrated in honor of the 'Rosa Mystica,' the Mystical Rose."

Pierina asked whether she would perform a miracle. Our Lady
answered, "The most evident miracle will be the godly souls, who for
some time, especially during the last war, became lukewarm, so that
they were unfaithful or even betrayed their vocation, will cease to
offend Our Lord gravely. By their great offenses, they brought
punishment and persecution upon the Church-----as we
experience it in our days-----but then the original
spirit of their holy founders will blossom again."

With these words the conversation ended. Now Our Lady
explained to Pierina the meaning of the three swords and the three
roses. A moving explanation which is to taken quite seriously!

The first sword means loss of the vocation as a priest or a
monk. The second sword means priests, monks, and nuns who live in
deadly sin. The third sword means priests and monks who commit the
treason of Judas. While giving up their vocation, they often lose also
their faith, their eternal beatitude, and become enemies of the Church.

The white rose means the spirit of prayer. The red rose means
the spirit of expiation and sacrifice. The yellow or golden rose means
the spirit of penitence.

Third Apparition on October 22, 1947

The beautiful woman appeared again, this time in the chapel of
the hospital in Montichiari during the service. Many employees of the
hospital, some physicians, and people from the town were present.

Our Lady asked for the realization of the devotion she had
recommended and said among other things, "My Divine Son, tired of the
continuing offenses, wanted to act according to His justice. So I
placed myself as a Mediatrix between Him and the human race, especially
the specially consecrated souls."

Pierina thanked her for that in the name of all who were
present. Our Lady took leave with a beautiful thought for Pierina
saying, "Vivi d'amore!" which means, "Live for love-----for
charity!"
Fourth Apparition on November 16, 1947

Our Lady appeared publicly in the parish church of Montichiari
in the presence of some people, among whom were also several priests.
Among other things she said, "Our Lord, my Divine Son, is tired of the
many offenses, the severe offenses, the sins against holy purity . . .
"
Here she paused and then went on, "He wants to send another flood of
punishment. . . ." Here she stopped again for some moments
and then went
on, "I have interceded that He may be merciful once more. Therefore I
ask for your prayer and penitence to expiate these sins."

Pierina said, "Yes!" and agreed to these wishes of Our dear
Lady. The
conversation went on, "I ardently ask the priests to admonish the
people in love that they do not commit these sins any more." Pielina
asked, "Will He then pardon us?" Our Lady answered, "Yes, so long as
one does not commit them any more." With these words she went away.

Fifth Apparition on November 22, 1947

Our Lady appeared again in the parish church in the presence
of several
persons. First she told Pierina Gilli to make four crosses with her
tongue on the floor just in the middle of the church, exactly under the
dome. (A humiliating act of expiation!) Then she descended on the
crosses and said, "I descend on this place because it is here that
great conversions will occur." Somewhat sadly she went on, "Today
specifically, there are Christians of your Italian nation who most
offend our Lord, my Divine Son Jesus, by their sins against holy
purity. Therefore, the Lord demands, prayer, great sacrifices, and
penitence." Pierina asked, "What have we to do to fulfill your wish for
prayer and penitence?" Our Lady answered mildly, "Prayer" (here she was
silent for some moments and continued), "Penitence means acceptance of
the little daily crosses and also doing one's work in the spirit of
penitence."

And in all her majesty she gave a promise with the following
words, "On
December 8th, at noon, I shall appear here again in the parish church
and it will be the hour of grace." Pierina Gilli asked, "Please,
explain to me! What does it mean, the hour of grace?" Our Lady replied,
"The hour of grace-----great and numerous conversions
will occur." Here she
paused again for some moments and continued, "Souls, totally hardened,
cold as this marble, will be touched by Divine grace and become
faithful and God-loving again."

This was the only time that Our dear Lady predicted a future
appearance. All the other apparitions happened unexpectedly.

Sixth
Apparition on December 7, 1947

This time when Our Lady appeared again in the parish church
there were
only three persons present. Among them was the Reverend Confessor of
the seer. Our Lady, as "Rosa Mystica," wore a white cloak. This was
held at the right side by a boy, at the left side by a girl. Both were
also dressed in white.

Our Lady said, "Tomorrow I shall show you my Immaculate Heart
which
human beings know so little." Here she paused and then went on, "In
Fatima I spread the dedication to my Immaculate Heart." With
heartfelt expression she went on, "In Bonate I tried to introduce
this devotion into Christian families." (Bonate, where Our Lady
appeared during the war, is situated near Bergamo.)

Here she made a somewhat longer pause, then continued, "Here
in Montichiari I wish the devotion of the 'Rosa Mystica,' together with
the
veneration of my Immaculate Heart, to be increased in the religious
institutes and the monastic communities, in order that these souls
dedicated to God may receive more graces from my motherly Heart."

Then Our Lady told Pierina a mystery and promised that she
herself
would let her know when she had to reveal it. Pierina asked, "Who are
the two children at your side?"

Our Lady answered, "Jacinta and Francesco. They will be your
companions in all your afflictions. They too have suffered, though they
were
much younger than you. Look, this is how I would like you to be-----simple
and good-----as these children used to be." Our Lady
extended her arms
protectingly, looked up to Heaven and exclaimed, "Sia benedetto il
Signore!" which means, "Praised be the Lord!" Then she disappeared.

Seventh Apparition on December 8, 1947

On this great feast of St. Mary, some thousand people had
gathered from
everywhere. Pierina Gilli had great difficulty in getting into the
overcrowded parish church. She knelt down on the spot where the other
appearances had taken place. While people were praying the Rosary, she
exclaimed, "Oh, La Madonna!" (Our Lady).

At once, there was a great silence. The pastor, Monsignore
Abate
Francesco Rossi, reported that many participants told him later,
(though
thousands of people were in the overcrowded church), it had become so
still that one could hear the humming of a single fly. Our Lady
appeared on a big white staircase which was decorated on both sides
with white and yellow and red roses. Our dear Lady smiled and said, "I
am the Immaculate Conception." And with great majesty, descending, she
said, "I am Mary of Grace, that is, the Full of Grace, Mother of my
Divine Son Jesus Christ."

Descending farther she continued, "I come here to
Montichiari
because it is my wish to be appealed to and venerated as 'Rosa
Mystica.' I wish people to celebrate each year on December 8th at noon
the hour of grace for the whole world. With this exercise, one will
receive
numerous spiritual and bodily graces. Our Lord, my Divine Son Jesus,
will be abundantly merciful so long as good men go on praying for their
fellow men. As soon as possible, let the Supreme Shepherd of the
Church, Pope Pius XII, know it is my wish that this hour of grace be
publicized and spreadthroughout the whole world. If someone cannot go
to church at this
time, he is to pray at noon at home, and he will receive graces from
me. He who prays on these bricks and sheds tears of repentance will
find a secure ladder to Heaven and get protection and graces from my
Motherly Heart."

With these words Our beautiful and radiant Lady showed
Pierina her Heart and burst into the following words, "Look at this
Heart which loves human beings so very much, though most of them
overwhelm it with abuses!"
Here she paused a moment, and then went on, "When good people and bad
people unite in prayer, they will receive mercy and peace from this
Heart. At present the Lord has been merciful to the good ones because
of my intercession. This has delayed a great judgment of God." Smiling,
she went on, "Very soon, one will know how important this hour of grace
is."

Pierina noticed that she was about to leave and said, "Oh
beautiful,
dear Saint Mary, I thank you! Please bless my homeland Italy, bless the
whole world, especially the Holy Father, the priests, the monks and
nuns, and the sinners." Our Lady answered, "I have an abundance of
graces ready for all those children who hear my voice and take my
wishes to heart." With these words the vision ended. Also during this
vision Our Lady confided to Pierina a secret and promised to come again
and tell her when the moment would come for revealing it.

Miraculous
Healings During this Apparition

Parents brought to the church a boy of about five or six
years who was
suffering from polio and could not stand or walk. Other parents brought
their daughter, about twenty-six years old, who suffered since she was
twelve years old from severe tuberculosis. She had not been able to
utter a single word for the last nine years.

In the same moment both were completely healed. The girl who
had not
been able to speak a word for the past nine years now sang a song of
praise with a full voice. Since then she has been able to sing and
speak without any difficulty.

The parents of the boy carried him in their arms into the
church, now
he could stand and walk. Later on he was shown in public from a balcony
to the rejoicing crowd in the big square in front of the church. The
whole crowd was deeply stirred when they saw the child jump up and
down. He declared, "I have seen Our Lady in the church and she smiled
at me benevolently." Since that time both have been in good health. The
boy married some years ago and the girl has become a pious God-fearing
nun who is living only to expiate for the religious orders and priests.

A Third Miracle

The third miracle happened during the time of the
appearance of Our Lady, not in the church of Montichiari,
but in a private home of the town. A woman of about thirty-six years
was healed at home during the time of the apparition. From childhood
on she was not normal but also not completely mentally disturbed. She
could not speak, but the worst thing was that she had no control over
her bodily functions. Her sister-in-law had to stay with her at home
while her father went to the cathedral to the anticipated appearance
of Our Lady. Her sister-in-law prayed the holy Rosary at the time of
the appearance and exclaimed spontaneously, "Our dear Lady, if you
are really present in the Church of Montichiari, please heal this poor
sick girl!" In the same moment the sick person was healed completely.
She was healed forever! Loud and full of joy she prayed with her
sister-in-law the holy Rosary to the end. When the father came home
from the church, he was astonished and full of joy upon seeing his
daughter healed.

This miracle especially caused a sensation and was later
declared to
be the most important one by several physicians. As in this case, any
mass suggestion had to be excluded. The healing was lasting. The girl
died some years later, but one of her brothers is still alive and can
witness to all this.

Please note that one of Mary's titles as has been recorded
above is Mystical Rose, and that there is a famous traditional image
called Mystical Rose; this is not the one of Montichiari. There is a
link below related to the Mystical Rose.

YOU ARE REFERRED TO STORY OF THE APPARITIONS AND HOW THYE
RELATE TO THE CHURCH, HERE.